1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to devices for treating fluids and, more particularly, to a combination hand held shower head and unitary filter housing for the removal of unwanted contaminants, such as chlorine, from water.
2. Description of Related Art
My U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,977, issued Jan. 25, 2000, discloses a hand held shower dechlorinator with a reversible and reusable filter held in an elongated, hollow handle secured to a shower head.
While the foregoing prior art device provides improved filtration of water passing through it, the hand held handle must be removed, the filter cartridge removed from the handle and reversed or a new filter cartridge inserted therein. This is not always convenient, and the filter cartridge holds a limited amount of filter media, unless made very large, either in diameter or length. This would necessitate the lengthening or broadening of the hand held housing, thereby adding to the cost and difficulty in use thereof. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved hand held shower head filter housing.